


What Do We Have?

by Tamasha



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Fluff, Fluid Sexuality, Friendship/Love, Gay, High School, M/M, Modern Era, One Shot, POV Arthur, Prom, Relationship(s), Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-15
Updated: 2015-12-15
Packaged: 2018-05-06 19:56:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5428727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tamasha/pseuds/Tamasha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin is the only gay boy in school (well, besides Gwaine and Percival, but they are together so it’s not relevant) and needs a date to prom. Arthur offers to go as a friend, but really he wants to go as more than that. After Merlin turns him down, Arthur is determined to make sure Merlin has a good night at prom, even if that means Merlin goes with someone else. But the boy who asks Merlin to prom turns out to be shady and Arthur really doesn’t like the idea of anyone hurting Merlin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What Do We Have?

**Author's Note:**

> written by Tamara

The sun reflected off the bleachers, shining a near-blinding light into Arthur’s eyes. Squinting, he continued his conversation he was having with Gwaine.

"Percy and I would make great starters." It was times like this that Arthur hated being captain of the football team. There was no way to make everyone happy, and he was friends with all of his teammates, so it was difficult when they complained to him directly. "Come on, just one match."

"You just want an excuse to spend more time with him," Arthur teased, hoping this could somehow get him out of making a decision.

Gwaine threw his head back and let out something like a cackle. "God, well of course I do. Come on, Arthur, be a mate. Percival and I will do really well, I promise."

Just as Arthur opened his mouth to answer, Merlin rounded the corner. He had his grey hoodie pulled over his head and sunk his fists into the pockets. He watched the ground as he walked, but made his way up the bleachers all the same.

"Hey, Merlin." Gwaine stood to meet him, but Arthur just watched.

Something was wrong. "What happened, Merlin?"

"Hmm?" Merlin liked to play dumb sometimes, especially when he didn’t want to talk about something. But Arthur alway could get him to spill anything.

Arthur gestured to his friend's hood, abstractly. "This is Sad Merlin, and Sad Merlin is a grumpy Merlin, and I don’t want to drive a grumpy Merlin home. So, you better tell me what's wrong or you won't be getting a ride home."

If Merlin was nothing else, he was definitely lazy. He would never pass up a ride from Arthur. "Fine. I can walk," Merlin grunted as he took the last steps up the bleachers to them.

Okay, so something was really wrong. "Hey, uh, Gwaine, could you give us a minute?"

Gwaine shrugged. "Sure. Think about what I said, Arthur." Arthur nodded and Gwaine gathered his things. Before stepping down the bleachers he clapped a hand to Merlin’s arm and said, "See you later, Merls."

Merlin just winced, silently moving to sit next to Arthur. "So?" Arthur prodded.

Merlin stared out onto the field, watching the track runners do laps. With his hoodie up, his ears were hidden, but Arthur could still make out the shape under the cloth. His nose looked a little red, which was typical because Merlin was cold even in summer. "It's nothing."

"No it's not. Because if it was, you wouldn't be sulking right now." Arthur reached out to touch Merlin, but thought better of it and clasped his hands together between his knees.

Merlin’s head snapped to Arthur. "I'm not sulking," he corrected indignantly.

Arthur smiled. Even in a bad mood, Merlin would make the effort to argue with him. For some reason, Arthur took comfort in that. "Tell me."

"You're going to laugh."

"I certainly am not!" Arthur gasped with a feigned affronted tone.

There were only a few occasions where Arthur had seen Merlin in such a state. There was the time he had failed a Math test, the time he had lost his cat for a few hours (really it was only two hours!), and the time he had broken up with Freya because he was finally ready to come out. It wasn’t often that Merlin allowed things to bother him like this. Typically he would let things just roll off his shoulders and continue on as if he hadn’t a care in the world. Arthur really liked the happy go-lucky Merlin had had gotten used to, he did, but this version of Merlin was so real and raw that Arthur savored the few times he was able to see Merlin at his deepest levels. It had always made Arthur feel closer to Merlin, a feeling that Arthur wouldn’t trade for the world.

Merlin was silent for another moment till Arthur elbowed his friend to encourage him to spill. "Okay, okay, fine. Fine. I'll tell you.” Merlin rubbed his arm where Arthur had elbowed him. “Valiant..." He turned to Arthur with urgency. "Don’t say anything about this." Arthur nodded, which seemed to reassure Merlin, so he continued. "I was putting up posters for Gay Prom and Valiant came over with Cenred and knocked them all out of my hands. As I was picking up the fliers, they kept saying that Gay Prom was gay, and I was gay for going." Merlin stopped and waited for Arthur to say something. "That's it... Mr. Robertson came and yelled at them before anything else could have happened."

"Merlin. Gay Prom is gay, that's why it's called Gay Prom..." Arthur chuckled, hoping the joke would be taken in the right way.

"I knew you wouldn't understand."

Merlin moved to leave, but Arthur grabbed his sweater and pulled him back down. "No, Merlin, wait. I didn’t mean it like that. I was trying to make you laugh. Look, they are fucking assholes. Really. Don’t worry about what they think." Arthur moved his hand down Merlin’s arm and rest it on his hand. Not quite intimate, but just reassuring enough. “They were just trying to get a rise out of you. I’m sorry; they were jerks.”

Merlin bit his lip, eyes darting from Arthur to his lap. "I know, but I just want to go to regular prom with someone I like, and not have it be 'gay' prom. Just regular old prom. I couldn't care less about what Valiant has to say about it, it's not like he came up with any creative insult. The problem is, I feel like I'm a freak or something because there is a whole separate prom just for me and my kind… So yes, I’m gay for going to Gay Prom, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be gay at our school’s prom."

Arthur's heart ached with understanding for his friend. He wanted so badly to fix Merlin’s sorrow, make him feel normal and not at all like a freak. Arthur would do anything to make Merlin smile, and he wished he knew how to do that. "Fuck them. Fuck everyone. Yeah? Don't go to Gay Prom. Come with me to prom. We'll show them that there is absolutely nothing wrong with two guys going together and it’s no different than a straight couple."

Merlin just blinked a few times before his mouth fell open cartoonishly. "Wait, what?"

"You heard me. We are going to prom together."

"But... I thought... I don’t..." Then his head snapped forward again. "No. I appreciate what you are trying to do, Arthur, but you don't have to do that for me. I wouldn’t want people to think -"

Arthur frowned. "I want to."

Merlin turned to Arthur again, placing a hand on Arthur’s shoulder. He smiled regretfully. "Seriously, Arthur. I appreciate it, but I can't accept that offer."

"Why?" Arthur asked, only just covering his hurt and the hidden feelings beneath the surface.

"Because you're not gay. That wouldn't be proving anything to them. All it would do is make me look like a pity case for my best friend who had to take me to prom out of pity."

Arthur laughed and wrapped an arm around his friend. "Pity case out of pity?"

"Sorry, Arthur, but the answer is no," Merlin responded, still serious. He pulled away from Arthur and stood up. "I just can't pretend, not with you."

Before Arthur had a chance to question his friend's words, Leon came running up the bleachers. "Arthur! Guess what, Lance just asked Gwen to prom. He got her flowers and everything. It was actually quite sweet."

Arthur rolled his eyes. He had broken up with Gwen two months ago and he really couldn’t care less that her and Lance had begun dating, but the rest of the team seemed to think it was a big deal or something. Arthur tried to quiet the gossip, but failed miserably most of the time. "That's nice, Leon."

Leon sat, uninvited, next to him, still smelling of sweat from practice. "I thought you would want to know."

"I don’t," Arthur corrected shortly.

Merlin flinched, still standing above them. "I need to go."

Arthur stood up and grasped for Merlin, unsuccessfully. "No, I'm giving you a ride home, Merlin."

"It's fine, Arthur, I want to walk." With that, Merlin was down the bleachers in a flash.

"So, have you thought about who you want to go to prom with?" Leon asked Arthur as he stared after Merlin with an ache in his heart and Merlin’s words ringing in his ears, ‘I just can’t pretend, not with you.’

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The next day at lunch Merlin came to the table with the most ridiculous grin on his face. Normally, Arthur would roll his eyes and try and think of a sarcastic remark to make the smile drop into a scowl, but today he found he was just relieved that Merlin was feeling better. Even though he wished he had been the one to put the smile there.

"Guess who has a date to prom!" Merlin triumphantly dropped his lunch tray down to get the table's attention.

"Me!" Gwaine piped wrapping an arm around Percival.

"See, why doesn't anyone give them shit for being gay?" Merlin whined pointing at the couple.

Leon just laughed. "Have you seen Percival? He could kill anyone at this school in a second -"

"I wouldn't -"

But Leon just plowed over Percival’s protest. "And Gwaine is not the kind of person to be bothered by anything, especially bullies. In fact, he just bullies right back, so no one says anything to him."

Merlin bit his lip and furrowed his brows. "I guess."

"Who has a date, Merlin?" Arthur burst out, sounding much more eager than he had wanted to.

Merlin puffed up his chest and happily reported, "Me. Daegal asked me this morning." Merlin was beaming, which should have made Arthur happy, right? He should be glad that Merlin had found a date. But he didn’t, he just felt hollow and empty. Merlin had continued talking through Arthur’s thoughts. "He had roses and a giant poster that read: 'Will you be my date?' It was so sweet."

Merlin sat down, still smiling like a fool while the others congratulated him. Even Morgause, who normally didn’t care about gossip, or other people’s lives for that matter, asked about Daegal’s promposal. Arthur tried to not be offended and encouraged himself to be happy for his friend. He should be happy that Merlin had found someone who he really liked and actually wanted to go to prom with. Clearly Merlin didn’t like Arthur’s invitation; clearly he had found the person that made him feel the way Merlin made Arthur feel. So it was a good thing that Merlin was going with Daegal. Daegal had made Merlin happy and had asked Merlin to prom in a thoughtful romantic way. As the last bell for lunch rang, Arthur couldn’t help thinking that he should have gotten flowers for Merlin too.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Three weeks later was prom night. Merlin couldn’t stop talking about how excited he was to be going to prom with another gay man and how he didn’t feel like he had to hide himself anymore. Arthur had settled on going alone. He didn't want to bother asking someone if he knew he wouldn’t be fully interested. As the weeks wore on, Arthur realized the only person he really wanted to go with was Merlin and there was just no point in pretending he wanted someone else.

The whole group had planned to go together. Arthur's father had agreed to rent a party bus for the evening so they had met up at Arthur’s before dinner. Uther seemed to actually be enjoying himself as he and the other parents took pictures of all of Arthur’s friends in their formal attire. Gwaine and Percival wore purple, Lance and Gwen were in gold, Morgause and Leon kept it simple with black and white only, Merlin and Daegal would be in blue (though Daegal hadn’t shown up yet), and Arthur was in red. It was quite a group, though they weren’t complete without Daegal. The parents took pictures anyway, hoping he would show soon which didn’t seem to bother Merlin. He posed for each picture with a huge grin.

After some more time had passed, Merlin walked over to Arthur, scowling at his mobile. "He said he would meet us at prom," Merlin informed Arthur as he shoved his phone back in his pocket. So Daegal wouldn't be at dinner. Great!

Wait...

Arthur realized he was being a bit selfish. "Sorry, M."

Merlin tried a smile, but Arthur wasn’t fully convinced. "It's fine. I'll see him soon. He was just running late." Arthur nodded in agreement and guided Merlin back to the group who was posing for a silly picture.

Morgana, who had graduated two years ago, had reluctantly come downstairs to see them off. She and Hunith, Merlin’s mum, were gushing about how Arthur and Merlin both looked so nice together in blue and red. They insisted that Arthur and Merlin pose together for the group pictures since neither had a date. They had made a fuss about it, that Arthur feigned exasperation towards, but Arthur was thanking them internally. He really didn’t mind posing next to Merlin.

Merlin, who looked far too handsome for his own good. Arthur stood next to Merlin as they finished a few more group pictures. They didn’t touch, but were facing each other. As Morgana snapped the last picture, Arthur realized he was shaking and a bit too disappointed that it wasn’t real. Merlin wasn’t actually his date. The group dispersed and started towards the kitchen where Uther had provided snacks.

“One more,” Morgana said, looking at her phone. Some stopped, thinking she wanted another group shot, but she looked up at Arthur. “You and Merlin. Come on now.”

“Morgana,” Arthur whined.

Merlin chuckled. “Just one.” He winked at Arthur and took his friend’s hands in the cheesiest prom pose on the planet. He pushed his face into Arthur’s; Arthur could feel the grin spread over Merlin’s face as he looked at Morgana. She was giggling as she readied her phone.

“One, two, three.” With a click of the camera Morgana’s face lit up. “You two are absolutely adorable.”

“Shut up,” Arthur grunted, pushing Merlin away following the rest of the group to the kitchen.

After a torturous hour, finally the bus arrived to take them to dinner. A few more pictures were taken in front of the bus, but soon the parents released them for the night.

Morgana pinched Arthur’s cheek before he boarded. "My little brother is growing up so fast." But her smile failed her when she caught Arthur’s eye. "So why don't you have a date? Do I need to teach some bitch a lesson?"

Arthur had to laugh at this. "No. I didn’t ask anyone. Well, I didn’t really ask anyone formally, I guess."

Her brows furrowed, but decided against pushing the subject any further. She patted Arthur's back, pushing him towards the bus. "Just have a good time, yeah?"

"Thanks, Morgana."

"Have fun, boys," Hunith called as Arthur followed Merlin up the steps. He wished it wasn't so easy for others to see the two of them as a couple. Clearly, that was wishful thinking on his part and Arthur needed to stop. They were just making it worse, and he wanted to just let Merlin have the space he deserved. Merlin sat next to Arthur on the bus and talked the entire ride about how excited he was for his first real date with a guy and how it didn't even bother him that Daegal wasn't even there yet. It was fairly clear that Arthur had no room for hope.

When they got to dinner the situation seemed to hit Merlin a bit. His mood dropped significantly from the bus ride, but he shook it off quickly enough once they were sitting. He engaged with the others, ignoring Arthur’s concerned glances. He was clearly eager to get to the dance.

Arthur paid for Merlin's food, and neither said anything about it.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Merlin kept biting his lip the rest of the night and didn't say another word about Daegal. He kept shooting glances at Arthur that didn’t - despite Arthur’s best attempts - go ignored. Finally they got to the hotel where prom was being held. Arthur was relieved to have the opportunity to get away from Merlin, because being close to him had been too confusing all night. At times he thought that Merlin was genuinely having a good time, but then Arthur would catch his face when he thought no one was looking: he was clearly upset with how the night was going. Arthur couldn’t help but feel his heart ache at the sight of Merlin feeling even slight disappointment. It wasn’t right. Daegal should have been there.

The thing about Merlin is you can't not fall in love with him the moment you meet him. It didn’t matter who he talked to, he could charm anyone into doing anything for him if he wanted. Not that Merlin would take advantage of anyone like that. It was just hard to be around Merlin when he was the only openly gay person at school and so damn charming. (Gwaine and Percival were both bi, and plus, they had each other; Arthur had never been interested in either of them that way.) It wasn’t just that he was adorable and likable, he was also accessible, and no one else had ever made Arthur feel like he was invincible. Merlin made him feel like he could conquer anything. With Merlin, things like sexuality just faded into the background.

Arthur had never been set on being just 'straight', 'gay', or even just 'bi'. He didn’t really care to define himself in any way; he was just Arthur. Most people assumed he was straight because his only relationship had been with Gwen and he hadn't technically 'come out' yet. However, to Arthur, it wasn't that simple. He didn't feel the need to tell everyone about his personal feelings towards his friend, or what turned him on, or anything relating to his dating life for that matter. It was literally no one's business except his own and anyone he planned on being with. So he let people assume he was straight, because it was easier than trying to explain himself to them. Most people loved putting others in boxes and labeling them, but Arthur just wanted to be free of that the way Merlin was.

Arthur had known for a long time that he was in love with Merlin, but they were friends, and good friends too. He couldn’t risk losing Merlin just because he wanted something more. Arthur decided long ago to just take what he could get from Merlin, and not push for more. Even a friendship was better than nothing. But when Merlin had come out, Arthur had thought maybe it would be a good opportunity to tell Merlin how he truly felt. It wasn’t. If he told Merlin, “By the way, I’m in love with you. I thought you should know now that being that you are gay and all.” How the hell would that look? He didn’t want to assume Merlin was attracted to him, or felt the same way, just because he had come out of the closet. Just because Arthur was a guy didn’t mean Merlin automatically was attracted to him. They were friends, and Arthur didn’t want to compromise that. So Arthur did something stupid, he buried his feelings in the back of his mind.

But his stupid mind was really stupid.

After proposing he and Merlin go to prom together - as a way to show the bigots that it was actually not a big deal for two blokes to go to prom together - all Arthur’s past feelings sprung up full force. Maybe they hadn’t really gone away. Who was he kidding? Of course they hadn’t. It was Merlin, for Christ’s sake. Not being in love with Merlin was like ignoring that two plus two equals four - it was just a fact of life. Watching Merlin exit the party bus, once they had arrived, Arthur knew he was not going to have a good time tonight if he couldn’t get his mind off Merlin.

They waited in the queue for about ten minutes and already Merlin’s teeth were chattering. The skinny little idiot never brought a jacket despite him being about zero percent body fat. He was in a light pink button up shirt that hugged his small frame in all the right places. His hair was combed over to one side with way too much gel. He had a powder blue bow tie that was too loose, but no one said anything because it was clear he had tied it on his own. Arthur wanted so badly to wrap Merlin up in his blazer and warm him for all eternity.

Wow.

That was a weird thought.

But god, Arthur really wanted to do that.

Merlin kept looking at his phone and frowning. He would place it back in his pocket only to remove it again, not thirty seconds later. “Is he waiting for you?” Arthur asked, far too interested than he had any right to be.

“He said he was already inside, but he left my ticket at the door.” Merlin faced Arthur with a worried expression. “You don’t think he is standing me up, do you?”

“No,” Arthur answered reflexively. This guy would have to be the stupidest person on the planet to stand Merlin up. “He’s probably just nervous, I’m sure there will be a ticket waiting, just like he said.”

Merlin nodded, but looked far from reassured. Instinctively, Arthur took Merlin's hand in his. Without a word, he started to rub little circles around each of Merlin’s knuckles. “Thanks.” Merlin seemed to relax some after that, but still stared ahead in line.

By the time they reached the front of the line, Merlin was clutching Arthur’s hand for dear life. In any other situation, Arthur would have been elated. In any other situation, this would have been exactly what Arthur wanted. He was worried, however, that Merlin’s concerns were right. Daegal didn’t seem like a bad guy, though his actions had been very strange. Arthur had met Daegal twice before; he seemed legitimately interested in Merlin - maybe not enough for Arthur’s satisfaction - and didn’t seem like he would do something like this to Merlin.

Merlin had had a crush on him for a month or two since Daegal had moved to their school. He had transferred from another school and had immediately caught Merlin’s attention. Arthur had instantly been jealous upon hearing about this mystery boy, but he kept quiet about it. So if Daegal was planning on doing anything to hurt Merlin, Arthur was certainly going to make a big fuss about it. In fact, it may be more than a big fuss. It might be a huge fucking stink. No one could hurt Merlin and get away with it; not if Arthur had anything to say about it. He’d have to wait and see...

“Sorry, no Emrys here.” The short redheaded woman who sat at the check-in table looked both bored and smug, somehow. Arthur wanted so badly to wipe that look off her face. The group had gotten in easily enough after a quick bag check. They all waited as Arthur and Merlin stood on the other side of the table, still outside.

“He said he’d leave me a ticket,” Merlin squeaked. Arthur, who was still holding onto his friend’s hand, gripped tighter. Please just find his name, just find his name, Arthur chanted in his head.

The woman leaned over and thumbed through a stack of tickets for the second time. “I’m sorry, there is no Merlin or Daegal in here. There must have been a misunderstanding. Do you want to try and call her?”

“Him,” Merlin corrected absent-mindedly as he dialed his phone again. He had tried calling Daegal several times, but he - of course - didn’t answer. “It must be too loud in there for him to hear,” Merlin said to no one in particular, still holding the phone to his ear.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what to tell you.” The stupid girl didn’t even seem to care one way or the other if Merlin got into the dance.

Arthur pushed forward, taking out his wallet. “Forget this. Let me buy his ticket.”

“Arthur, no,” Merlin protested weakly.

Arthur just put his hand up to silence his friend. “How much?” he asked the woman.

“Sorry,” the girl declared. “But you can’t buy tickets here. It’s pre-sale only. We have a cap, you know?”

Arthur slapped a hand to the plastic table. “But he has a ticket already, you just lost it!”

“Arthur, please.” Merlin was tugging at Arthur’s sleeve gingerly. Arthur’s glare remained fixed on the redhead, however.

“Just let him in. He’s clearly not trying to sneak in, otherwise he wouldn't have come through the front door.” The rest of the group got involved by attempting to pull Arthur away before things got too bad. He took a deep breath to calm himself, but the woman had already called over another teacher.

Mr. Gaius was a beloved teacher; they had all had him at one point for either social studies or Economics. As the old man strolled over to the table to see what all the fuss was about, his face immediately lit up when he saw his students. “Oh, hello all. Merlin! Good to see you. What is the matter here, Angela?” The redhead quickly explained the situation, causing the older man’s eyebrow to disappear into his hairline. “Oh, I see.”

“She says he can’t go into the dance, but he’d better because I’m not leaving him and someone has to go in there to tell that fucking jerk what's what.” Arthur could feel his blood boil. Even if it was a mistake, Daegal should have been with Merlin, like a good date. He shouldn’t have left him to fend for himself. He shouldn’t have left him at all. Merlin didn’t deserve this.

Mr. Gaius muttered some words to the young girl, who simply nodded in response. Finally the old teacher told Merlin he could go ahead in, free of charge. The whole group thanked the teacher gratefully before going in together. Everyone had become angry at that point. Everyone except Merlin that is. Merlin just looked despondent, which only made Arthur more upset.

Gwaine said he’d help Arthur beat the kid up, but Merlin protested profusely. “I just want to find him and get this night over with, please.”

“I want to find him too. Let’s go.” Arthur followed Merlin further into the dark room and all eight of them began looking for Merlin’s almost-date.

Finally Merlin perked up as he spotted Daegal across the dance floor. He was with a girl. Merlin didn’t seem to notice or mind because he walked straight for him, waving. Arthur reached them seconds while Merlin was saying “- you could have said something sooner, don’t you think?”

“Sorry, Merlin. She asked me last minute and I wanted to go with her more than you. I just didn’t know how to tell you. I’m not even gay, mate, I just felt bad for you.”

Arthur could feel the figurative steam shoot from his ears when he heard that. He wanted so badly to punch Daegal in the face, but he knew that would only make the situation worse, and then Daegal would be a martyr, and Arthur couldn’t have that. He wanted to prove something to everyone in that room who thought any less of Merlin for who he was. He wanted to show Merlin, and anyone else who cared, that he loved his best friend dearly. Arthur wanted all this, he did, but he didn’t say a single word.

Merlin accepted his defeat and simply walked away. Arthur remained, still glaring at Daegal with all the intensity he could muster. “Who are you?” Daegal asked with a cringe of his nose.

That was it. “I am Merlin’s best friend, Arthur. And you really picked the wrong gay kid to mess with, pal.”

"I wasn’t -” he started, but it was useless. Arthur wasn’t listening.

“You are a fucking idiot, you know that? Merlin is the greatest person in this whole goddamn school and you could have been the luckiest guy here, but you went and stood him up for a girl. You don’t deserve the kindness I am giving you by not punching you in the face, but I’m going to have to let that go, because I want to stay here and give Merlin the prom he deserves and not get kicked out for giving you the ass-kicking you deserve.”

Arthur turned around to make his dramatic exit when he realized Merlin was still standing within earshot. “Um,” Arthur said, throat dry. “Oh.”

Daegal and his date walked away quickly, leaving Arthur to own up to his feelings after all this time. “Did you really mean that, Arthur?”

“Of course I did,” Arthur said with a bite. He was still going from his rant at Deagal, but he also hated that Merlin didn’t believe what he had said to be true. He took a calming breath and stepped towards Merlin. “You are my best friend, M. And I love you to bits.”

Merlin closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. He was going to admit something big; Arthur knew that face. This was the moment when Merlin turned Arthur down and said something like, “Sorry, Arthur we are just friends.” Instead, he opened his eyes and moved forward, taking Arthur’s hand. “But I thought… Aren’t you…”

Arthur knew what Merlin was getting at and he just rolled his eyes at how irrelevant the subject of sexuality was at the moment. “Merlin?”

“Yeah?”

“Shut up and kiss me.”

Merlin laughed, but didn’t obey. “This isn’t just to prove a point to them?”

“Of course it is, Merlin. I want to prove to everyone here that we have something special that they don’t have.”

Merlin gasped and chuckled in one breath. “What’s that, Arthur?” He was beaming: the same smile he had after Daegal had asked him to prom, except bigger, like he had just been given an extraordinary gift. But Arthur wasn’t the extraordinary gift, Merlin was.

“We have each other.” Arthur closed the gap between them and kissed Merlin like he had wanted to for so long.

Merlin eagerly accepted, leaning his head to give Arthur better access. “God,” Merlin said as he broke away, “I’ve wanted that for so long.”

“Really?” Arthur asked, despite being so sure. Because Merlin’s face said it all. It said he loved Arthur to the end of time itself and back. And if Merlin loved Arthur even half as much as Arthur loved him, then they wouldn’t have a single thing to worry about. Merlin nodded and kissed Arthur again. “Let’s make them all jealous, M.” Then Arthur danced with Merlin and did just that.

 

**Author's Note:**

> This is based off of a true story. This happened to me in high school with a winter ball dance. I had been wanting to do a Merlin and Arthur prom story for a long time, so I'm glad I was able to make it work. I hope you enjoy it, even though it ended a bit abruptly. Comments are welcome, as usual.


End file.
